


the light is no mystery

by Atlanta_Black



Series: Harry Potter One-shots [21]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - The Old Guard (Movie 2020) Fusion, F/M, Immortals, New immortals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26315107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlanta_Black/pseuds/Atlanta_Black
Summary: Sirius grins, looking as if Christmas had come early. “Greece,” he says slowly, drawing the word out in that slow way that meant she was going to hate whatever came next. “Sounds like an excellent place to see how badly you burn in the sun, Evans.”“I’m not an Evans anymore,” she mutters, sticking her tongue out at him. He was right of course, but like hell was she going to tell him that.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Harry Potter One-shots [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875151
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	the light is no mystery

**Author's Note:**

> This series is doing what it wants and coming to me in pieces, so, it is what it is and all that.

_You raised your hand to your face as if_

_to hide it, the pink fingers gone gold as the light_

_Streamed straight to the bone,_

_[…]_

_The light is no mystery,_

_The mystery is that there is something to keep the light_

_From passing through._

Visible World by Richard Siken 

  


➳

  
“Good news Moony,” James says cheerfully despite his death grip on her hand. “All those times you told me I’d get myself killed pulling reckless stunts, turns out death doesn’t seem to quite stick.” 

“I think I’ll need some tea for this conversation,” Remus says faintly, staring at the three of them with wide eyes. He pushes himself up, brushing past Sirius, a hand settling briefly on his shoulder before he disappears into the kitchen, the sound of running water and cups clinking together following shortly after. 

James squeezes her hand again before letting go and moving to take Harry from Sirius, the barest bit of tension slipping from his shoulders as soon as Harry is in his arms. Sirius curls a hand around James’ wrist and _squeezes_ and she knows that fear, that cold grief had crept into his lungs as well, had left him shaken and stumbling, same as her. Had left them facing down the rest of their life without James and it, it had left an unnameable beast settled in her bones. She doesn’t like to think of what they’d become without him. 

She holds her hands up to her face, heart still beating in her ears. Holds up her shaking hands and watches the light bend around her fingers and doesn’t know whether to be thankful or to scream until her voice bleeds itself dry. Doesn’t know what’s happening and Merlin, she hates not knowing. Hates this uncertainty, the betrayal she has yet to properly think about, the implied consequences of the dark lords robes laying crumpled next to Harry’s cribs. Hates not knowing why her son, why her child, suddenly has a scar crackling across the right side of his face as if someone had taken a knife and carved it into his skin. 

“Come on Lils,” James says softly, some unknown amount of time later, tugging her hand down and pulling her towards the couch. “Sit down, drink whatever god awful tea Remus made you.” 

“What happened?” Remus asks, pushing a cup of tea into her hands and forcefully shoving one at James as well. Sirius wrinkles his nose and refuses to take one, instead taking Harry back and sitting down on James’s other side, pressing a leg against his as if scared James will disappear and they’ll find themselves back in that room, thinking that they’d lost him, thinking that it was just the two of them, when it was never meant to be just the two of them. 

“Lils, what happened?” James nudges her and she blinks over at Remus, dragging her eyes away from the spot where Sirius’ leg is pressed to James’, belatedly realizing that she’s been quiet for too long. 

“I died,” she says quietly, taking a sip of her tea and wishing it could wash away the cold still sitting in her lungs. “I died and when I woke up, I woke up, isn’t that just the most ridiculous …?” She pauses, breathes deeply, focuses on the warmth of the cup in her hand. “I woke up and you-know-who was gone, his robes on the floor near the crib and Harry had _that scar_ on his head.” 

“How is that possible?” Remus mutters, wide eyed, hands shaking around his cup. “People don’t just _come back_ from that curse. They don’t.” 

“I died too,” James mutters, fingers reaching up to press to the back of his head. “But he, I know he threw me across the room. I _felt_ my skull crack and there’s… there’s nothing there. Not even a bump.” 

She takes another sip of her tea, a floral, orange brew that Remus keeps stocked specially for her. Remus stares at them both with terrified eyes and shaking hands and she wishes, she wishes… She doesn’t know what she wishes for, but not this. How could she wish for whatever this is?

“Why was Hagrid there?” Sirius asks suddenly, frowning down at Harry as they all turn to stare at him. “I’ve been trying to figure it out since I saw him. Why was he there? How did he know that something had happened?”

It’s a good question, and judging by the blank looks, the others are just as clueless as her. “We need to leave,” she says again, the urgency from earlier suddenly coming back full force, tapping at her spine and urging her to move, move, move, _move_. “We need to, get out of the country or, at least out of this town.”

“Why?” Remus asks, looking bewildered at the statement. “What are you running from if you-know-who is gone?” 

“I don’t—” she presses her lips together, tries to focus on the feeling and keeps getting caught on the urgency of it. “I don’t know. All of it? We should be dead, Remus!” She laughs, absently noting the hysteria in the sound. “I’m taking my family and I’m leaving before someone tries to pull us back into this war.” 

“It’s not just that,” James says, tapping her cup in reminder and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “There’s this, this feeling that we need to leave, not related to the war or to Dumbledore. It’s just…” he shrugs helplessly and he must make some face at Remus that only they understand, because Remus sighs in acceptance and nods. 

Harry whimpers, twisting in Sirius’s arms to look for her and she finds herself smiling softly, reaching across James to take him from Sirius, handing him her tea despite his wrinkled nose. 

“You don’t have to drink it,” she rolls her eyes, rubbing her nose against Harry’s, his giggles causing her heart to slow its frantic pace. But then, how could this be anything but a blessing when she can still hold her child and hear his laugh? 

“Okay,” Remus sighs. “Okay. Where are we going?” 

“I’ve always wanted to see Greece.”

Sirius grins, looking as if Christmas had come early. “Greece,” he says slowly, drawing the word out in that slow way that meant she was going to hate whatever came next. “Sounds like an excellent place to see how badly you burn in the sun, Evans.”

“I’m not an Evans anymore,” she mutters, sticking her tongue out at him. He was right of course, but like hell was she going to tell him that. 

“That’s right,” James says, still just as proud and as pleased as he was on their wedding day. “All Potter now. The best Potter there is!” 

“I can’t believe you’d do Harry like that,” she says, laughing at his mock thoughtful look. 

“How soon do you want to be gone?” Remus asks, rolling his eyes at James, already on his feet and setting items to sort themselves out. A suitcase appears from a cabinet it most definitely should not have fit in, and the rug pulls itself out from under her feet and sets to rolling itself up. 

“We’ll leave in the morning,” James says firmly, squeezing her shoulder. “We all need to sleep.”

“I need to go pack as well,” Sirius sighs, drinking the rest of her tea in one gulp and then gagging. “What the fuck is that Evans, Merlin, that’s foul.” 

“Then why did you drink it?” James mutters, frowning at Sirius and taking the cup away from him. “You know you hate tea.” Sirius sticks his tongue out, flicking James’ glasses. 

“You can both use my bed to sleep,” Remus says, brushing past them towards his room, pausing briefly to place a gentle hand on Harry’s head. “I’ll nap on the couch when I’m done packing.” Cutting James off before he can even protest. Lily’s far too tired to protest anything at all. The urge to run coming and going in waves, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion each time it retreats. 

“Thanks Remus,” she says quietly as she passes him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before moving into the room, not bothering to do more than kick her shoes off. James closes the door behind them a moment later, kicks his shoes off and then opens the door back up. 

“Just in case,” he says quietly, curling around her and Harry, knees to her knees, nose to her neck, a hand to Harry’s chest. “Just in case.” 

“I love you,” she chokes out, fighting down the grief still trying to burn her throat. “I thought, I thought I’d never get to—”

“I know,” he murmurs, breath warm against her skin, some of the cold fleeing from his voice. “I love you too, Lily flower, always, always.”

She presses her face into Harry’s hair, swallows down the anger, the thankfulness, the grief. Swallows it all down and in between one breath and the next, she’s asleep.   


➳

  
She wakes with a choked off cry, sitting up so fast she nearly hits Harry in the head. Next to her James has done the same, rolling over, chest heaving, gasping for air. There’s an ocean roaring in her ears, the taste of salt still stuck to her tongue and the image of hair so blonde she wonders if it wouldn’t put the sun to shame. 

“I dreamed, I dreamed of the ocean,” James mutters, still breathing hard, hands clenched around the sheets. “I dreamed of the ocean and rocks, and a girl with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.” 

“She had blonde hair,” she hears herself say, stares at James’ hands still clenched around the sheets, “and the wind blew the salt in her mouth.” 

“The houses were white,” he says, tilting his head towards her, eyes almost unbearably bright without his glasses in the way. 

They stare at each for a long, drawn out moment. The impossibility of the situation not quite sinking in, and before it can, before she can wake up enough to question why the fuck they’re having the same dream, there’s the unmistakable sound of apparation, a crash from the living room and Remus cursing.

“WE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW GUYS,” Sirius yells, sounding far too panicked for whatever ungodly hour it is. 

She exchanges one split second, wide eyed glance with James, before grabbing Harry and scrambling out of the bed. Truly, she supposes, this is what they get for letting Sirius go off on his own. You’d think they’d have learned by now. 

**Author's Note:**

> Remus: YOU WEREN'T EVEN GONE FOR SIX HOURS? YOU COULDN'T STAY OUT OF TROUBLE FOR SIX HOURS?
> 
> Sirius: in my defense, his face is very punchable, and so I punched it. 
> 
> Lily: If I die again Black I am going to be very pissed off. 
> 
> James: WHY DID YOU EVEN LEAVE YOUR HOUSE, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PACKING. 
> 
> Sirius: frankly, I went out to have a good time and I am feeling so attacked right now. 
> 
> Remus, James & Lily: GOOD


End file.
